Aww yeah, the show is good again! This was a strong enough episode to make up (almost, sort of) for the boring stuff in the middle — lots of secrets discovered, truths ferreted out, and big reactions all around.

This is also the episode to finally break the 40% mark, bringing in a 41.3% rating. I’m glad the show delivered a strong episode to mark the big moment since it would be pretty anticlimactic for it to snag “national drama” status via one of the dull episodes where everyone cries and nothing moves forward — although I suppose it makes sense that the strong episode probably had a li’l something to do with the ratings increase in the first place. Wild Romance bowed out with a 5.4%, while Take Care of Us, Captain brought home a 5.8%.

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EPISODE 16 RECAP

Backing up a few moments before the end of Episode 15, we follow Wol as she is called to see Queen Bo-kyung. On her way, she flashes back to a conversation with Seol, where she learns that after her “death,” Bo-kyung was made the new princess bride, without going through another selection process. Ah, I love to see the wheels of suspicion turning in Wol’s brain.

The brothers sit in tense confrontation. Yang-myung declares that he is prepared to give up his royal status to be with Wol — can Hwon do the same? If Yang-myung does as the king wishes and leaves her alone, will Hwon be able to protect her?

Very good questions. I love you, Hwon, but you’re trying to have your cake and eat it too — you can’t have her, but you will insist that she remain alone so that nobody else can, either, making everybody unhappy — and it’s not one of your better moments. Yang-myung comes to that very conclusion, asking how he thinks he can protect her by refusing to give her up, in the process turning the innocent Wol into a criminal. Yang-mung keeps asking these difficult questions until Hwon bangs his fist on the table (a favorite pastime of his) and asks him to stop. Some truths are just too hard to hear.

Yang-myung asks, “Can you let go of Yeon-woo? I can.” Oh, nice — calling out Hwon for his inability to care for the woman in front of him without linking her to the woman he lost. (Never mind that they’re technically the same person.) He declares that Hwon won’t be able to do that, and Hwon can’t argue.

Wol sits calmly while Bo-kyung gasps and stutters, asking how she came to be here, meaning Dead Girl Yeon-woo. Wol reminds her that she called her here. Bo-kyung starts to ask, “You couldn’t be…?” but cuts herself off, telling herself forcefully no, it can’t be.

Wol says evenly, “Heo. Yeon. Woo” and visibly rattles Bo-kyung. Then she says innocently that she keeps hearing that she looks like that girl, but that she is merely a shaman. She says that while she was in the Hidden Moon Building, she saw the ghost of Yeon-woo, which spoke to her. Bo-kyung looks like she’s about to crumple into hysterics at any moment, as Wol adds with creepy intensity that the ghost wishes the queen happiness.

Ha, I love Wol as the cat toying with the mouse. A very smart cat (but aren’t they all?), because it makes Bo-kyung burst out, “There’s no reason she would say that! She would never say that to me!”

She dismisses Wol, who is barely out the door before Bo-kyung erupts into screams. Wol notes that Bo-kyung faced her with horror, not as a woman seeing an old acquaintance: “Why?” Such good questions, finally being asked. If Bo-kyung had nothing to do with her death, you’d expect shock and denial, but not terror.

Bo-kyung sobs to herself, trying to deny that her worst fears might be true. She flashes back to her teenage self deciding she would take that place as princess, knowing that meant death to Yeon-woo.

Wol sees herself out of the palace, stopping by the familiar Hidden Moon Building, which holds such poignant memories. She enters the building, looking around the rooms, opening the windows where she’d once found Hwon waiting for her with the puppet show… and finds adult Hwon standing there now, looking up at the very same window.

She jerks back and shuts the window, then steels herself to open it again — only the courtyard is empty this time. Was he a figment of her imagination?

Wol hurries outside and sadly confirms that he’s not there after all. Just as he walks up from the side, staring intently all the while. He demands to know why she’s here instead of at Hwalinseo. She explains that she was summoned and lost her way out, then excuses herself. He grabs her hand to keep her there, though he doesn’t turn to face her.

They stand with backs to each other as he asks after her health, offering to send her away, perhaps someplace where she’ll be completely anonymous. Wol struggles to control herself, keeping her voice steady as she tells him she’s fine, and not to worry about such trifling affairs. Inwardly she thinks that she won’t be able to see him anymore if he does that.

He asks if she’ll continue living as a criminal for a crime she didn’t commit, and she answers, “How can you say I have not committed a crime?” To herself she thinks that she can’t make up for the crime of not being having recognized him at first glance. Lordy. Okay, I’m docking a few of the brownie points you’ve earned this episode, sappy lady. Thankfully you’ve built up a nice stash, so you can spare a few.

He takes her words at face value, though, asking if she really did seduce a royal (i.e., Yang-myung). She tells him to steel himself and be firm, to not be shaken by his feelings anymore. Their turned backs mean that he doesn’t see her starting to sob, and he drops her hand, telling her dully to leave and never show herself to him again.

She watches him walking away and cries.

Wol returns to find Nok-young awaiting her and faces her coldly, telling her to leave. She hasn’t made sense of everything yet, but she’ll find her when she’s ready. Nok-young says the king has summoned her, and she needs to speak with Wol to know how to answer his questions.

Nok-young explains being caught between the queen dowager’s command and her friend’s plea: “And so, I killed you. And so, I saved you.” She says she is ready to accept whatever punishment Wol intends to mete out.

There’s one thing that Wol cannot understand or forgive, and it’s that Nok-young deceived her father into thinking he’d killed her: “You should have killed me outright.” She says that her father killed himself out of guilt: “No, the moment he fed me that medicine, he had already died. That medicine meant to save my life became poison stealing my father’s life. Do you understand? You did not kill me, you killed my father!”

Wol demands, “The eight years that my family and the king have spent shedding tears of blood — how will you repay them?”

But there is one more bomb to be dropped, and Nok-young explains that spells of this kind require an offering. In her case, there was a young girl who offered herself up in order to realize her personal desires, who participated in the chant and prayed for Yeon-woo’s death. Oh, interesting. I wonder if she was tricked into participating, or if she’s more culpable than we’ve been led to believe.

Wol asks, “Was it the queen?” Nok-young shakes her head, and this makes Wol think of the information she recently discovered — about Princess Min-hwa visiting her room before her death. She shakes her head in denial, but Nok-young confirms that it was the princess.

Min-hwa huddles in her room crying, riddled with fresh guilt over contributing to Lord Heo’s suicide. She thinks of her childhood infatuation with Yeom, and how she had begged her grandmother to help her marry him. And Granny, asking deviously if Min-hwa would “help” her, in order to get what she wanted.

Yeom drops by and sees that she’s been crying. He’s concerned because she’s been holed up ever since visiting his father’s grave, and that reminder sets her off crying again. She makes up the excuse that she’d had a nightmare that he disappeared, and he holds her comfortinly. He says with smile, “I told you that you’re pretty when you laugh, but now that I find you pretty when you cry, I’m in trouble.”

Aw. What poor timing for him to finally soften toward her, when she’s realizing the extent of her selfishness. She asks him to forgive her “for everything,” and he urges her to sleep, promising to stay with her through the night.

Nok-young has a reason for revealing Min-hwa’s part in this, and explains that participating in a rite to kill the princess bride is, naturally, a capital offense. If the truth came out, the king would be forced to punish his sister, and Yeon-woo’s own brother would be punished by association, being married to the criminal. That’s exactly why the queen dowager chose Min-hwa as the offering, because it would be a safeguard: If the king and/or Wol ever discovered the truth later, they’d find themselves forced to keep silent.

Wol asks what she must do. Nok-young tells her she must choose: Reveal all and go to the king, or cover it up and live like this.

Now Wol understands why Nok-young has remained silent — it wasn’t her decision to make. Nok-young says that she will follow Wol’s decision when she meets with the king.

The next day, the king’s entourage happens upon the path of Yang-myung as he’s confronting one of the ministers in the Council of Evil. Yang-myung gives the minister the choice to send the promised provisions to the sick and poor (which he’d embezzled for himself), or face having his corruption revealed to the king.

Hwon interrupts and asks what’s going on. Yang-myung covers for now, saying he was merely informing the minister of the poor conditions of Hwalinseo, because it seems he’s unaware. Hwon stiffens and reprimands Yang-myung for poking his nose into politics, which he is forbidden to do. Seriously, king? You’re going to let your jealousy speak first, rather than dealing with the injustice? C’mon, priorities.

Yang-myung says he is not getting political, but merely offering testimony to the travesty of Hwalinseo — which, by the way, happens to literally mean “place where lives are saved.” But the current Hwalinseo “is a lot more like a place that kills people.”

Hwon says coolly that he had no idea his brother who’d left to go traveling was so interested in the poor and needy. Well, someone’s got to do it, King Mopeypants. Yang-myung reminds him of a king’s service, and Hwon asks if he’s telling him that he’s ruling poorly and sending his nation into danger. Yang-myung holds firm and asks for his understanding.

Hwon blasts his council for the corruption, speaking so harshly that they protest that he’s overstating the offense. He warns them that he won’t stand for embezzling funds meant for public aid.

Nok-young makes her appearance before Hwon, which the queen dowager hears with alarm. She orders Nok-young brought to her the moment she emerges from her meeting with the king.

Hwon starts by asking about Nok-young’s departure from Seongsucheong eight years ago, and she basically cuts to the chase, telling him to ask what he really wants to know. He asks, “Is it possible to kill a person with a spell?”

She replies that it is not possible — or rather, it’s possible but the person behind the spell will die, because a spell always has consequences. If she had ever done a thing, she would have died. (I don’t think her answer is an outright lie, because she could have known this all along; since Yeon-woo was never going to stay dead, her spell didn’t kill Nok-young. But it’s purposely misleading, for sure.)

Hwon is disappointed with that response and so am I, but this is Wol’s decision. In a flashback, we see Wol instructing her not to say anything, because she doesn’t want to add to Hwon’s pain.

Then Nok-young points out that she’s still alive, in a loaded tone. (By extension, this means the subject of the killing spell should also be alive…) Read between the lines, Hwon!

Next, Nok-young is taken to the queen dowager and first lies about Hwon’s reason for meeting her. The queen sees through it right away, so Nok-young admits that the king mentioned Wol; he ordered her to make sure her shamans kept their mouths shut, to prevent harmful gossip about her from spreading.

She also apologizes for challenging the queen previously, saying that she lost her temper out of worry for her shaman charge. She begs for forgiveness, and the queen is appeased. Nok-young thinks to herself that it’s quite ironic that the more the queen attempts to interfere, the more she’s helping the two people.

Hwon is thankfully skilled at reading between the lines after all, because he puts together the clues: spell-caster is alive, and the body was warm even after death. Ergo: “She may still be alive.”

Wol sits with a girl at Hwalinseo who refuses to eat and guesses that the girl intends to starve herself to death. She prods her to talk about what’s bothering her, and the girl says that there’s no point in living when she’s just a useless burden to her parents. If she dies, her family will have one less mouth to feed.

Wol tells her she understands, sharing her own experience of thinking her death would end her family’s suffering. But what parents would be fine after losing a beloved daughter? She tells the girl not to think of dying again and comforts her… just as Yang-myung arrives behind her, having heard the exchange.

What he once desperately wished were true is now a hindrance to him claiming her, and he thinks despairingly, “Please, say it’s not true — that you’re not Heo Yeon-woo. That you’re just the shaman Wol. That you have no connection to the king.”

With the corruption discovered, Hwalinseo receives its delivery of supplies, and Yang-myung gives Wol a book containing medical information. He offers his aid in explaining the contents, but Wol opens the book and gets to reading it right away, which is another telling clue.

He also has a change of clothing for her, saying that he’d like to take her to visit an old friend. He watches her face closely as he refers to Yeom, but Wol turns away to hide her reaction.

Hwon considers the possibility that Yeon-woo is alive, and wonders why she wouldn’t find him if she were. And if it’s Wol, why would she pretend ignorance? She didn’t look like she was lying. Then there’s the fact that nobody confirmed that Yeon-woo was buried in that grave. He shakes his head — this is an absurd line of thinking. Or is it?

Hong Kyu-tae next takes his secret investigation to Yeom. He asks for his explanation of his sister’s death, but Yeom doesn’t have much to add. He’d been sent away and was only there for her funeral.

Yeom hears a sound outside his walls and briefly looks for the source. As he walks away, Seol peers over the wall, on another of her silent vigils. In voiceover, she tells Yeom that his sister recovered her memory, and that he’ll be able to reunite his family.

Yeom finds his mother at her annual wardrobe cleaning, to send the unused clothing to Hwalinseo. This year she intends to send it to the other aid camp — the one where Wol was sent — and he guesses that it’s because of that girl who looks like Yeon-woo. Mom says that even without the Yeon-woo connection, she feels sympathy for that girl and her parents, who’d hate seeing her treated so badly.

He tells his mother of the king’s investigator who asked about Yeon-woo, and that in itself is enough to rouse their suspicions.

After Hong Kyu-tae leaves Yeom’s house, he grabs one of the servant men to ask some more questions. The man admits that there was one disturbing thing that he didn’t tell his master for fear of worrying him. The day after the burial he’d gone to the girl’s grave and found it all torn up, like wild animals had been pawing at it.

Just then, the man spots Seol walking by and recognizes her as the family’s former slave girl. Hong Kyu-tae turns and recalls having seen her in more recent encounters.

Hong Kyu-tae informs Hwon about the grave digging, and also about the curious woman he’s seen a few times. According to the servant, she used to serve Yeon-woo… and based on his own knowledge, she’s Wol’s bodyguard. Finally, a concrete connection!

Hwon sets out to speak with Nok-young immediately, all the bits and pieces finally arranging them in his head. He lines up the facts: “A spell. A corpse that didn’t go cold. A hurried burial without shrouding the body. A dug-up burial ground. A murder that leaves no trace. Another spell. Seongsucheong. Head Shaman Jang. And Wol’s slave girl who appears at every investigation site.”

Bo-kyung trembles uncontrollably in her inner chamber, shoved into a corner. Her mother pleads with her, but Bo-kyung bursts out that Yeon-woo is alive. She cries that she’s back to claim the king, kick her out, and retake her place.

Her mother tells her that she didn’t steal her position because it was always hers, and that it’s only her guilt in thinking so that led her to hallucinate. Bo-kyung screams, “I’m NOT seeing things!” Now she’s defiant, declaring that she knows everything: “I know Father killed Yeon-woo.”

Mom must be in on all the intrigue, because she looks around furtively and tells Bo-kyung that if she keeps her mouth shut, all will be fine. She whispers, “Have faith in your father.”

Just then Daddy dearest walks through her doors, but his presence sets her off and Bo-kyung screams, “Leave!” She breaks down into sobs and Minister Yoon looks disturbed. He recalls the shaman’s familiar face, and wonders if Yeon-woo could be alive: “Could this possibly be the work of Head Shaman Jang?”

That head shaman is currently receiving the king, who demands the truth — no evasions, no wordplay. He asks when she took Wol as her protege — and whether the dictate for a new shaman to cut ties with her former life means she must intentionally not think of her past life, or if it means she literally cannot remember it.

She answers that it’s usually the first, but she has seen a case of the second, after “surviving the agony of death.” He asks if she’s referring to the horrors of finding oneself buried alive. Did that woman recover her memory, or does she still not know who she is? “And is that shaman’s name… Wol?”

She looks at him in stunned silence, and he demands, “Is the shaman named Wol the same girl who died eight years ago, Heo Yeon-woo?!”

Nok-young nods.

Hwon turns silently and walks out, reeling from the shock.

Outside, he breaks down, recalling all the harsh words he had for Wol, and all the hardships she has suffered recently.

He sinks to his knees and cries, clutching his heart, sobbing, “Yeon-woo-ya…”

COMMENTS

Thank heaven for that! I’d been starting to tire of Hwon, which was a very sad feeling because I loved his character earlier on and love both actors. It’s just that he’s so frustratingly stuck in ONE mode, one point in space and time, and it’s hard to sympathize with someone who gets super-angry at the hand he’s dealt but seemingly does little about it.

In that sense I’ve been siding with Yang-myung in all their recent arguments, even though ultimately I want Hwon and Yeon-woo to find their happy ending. It’s just that Hwon’s struggles are all internal, with himself, and it makes for very little movement in his character. He’s also locked into the past, unable to separate Yeon-woo from Wol. Forget for a moment that we don’t technically have two different women vying for his heart; his inability to distinguish is still important, because it locks him into the past, and you can’t do a whole lot of good about something that’s over. It points to Hwon’s inability to do the hard thing and deal with the present, as Hyung-sun so earnestly begs him to do. He has dug in his heels, conflating past with present.

I think the drama is going with the “undying love that will never change” theme, but there’s a delicate balance to be struck in that kind of scenario. You don’t want your hero to seem fickle, but at the same time, you go too far the other way and he’s foolishly obstinate. It would have loved for the couple to fall in love anew, which would have made that theme even stronger — he’ll love her as Yeon-woo, and he’ll love her as Wol. We got a few moments early on when he was struck by her wise answers, but mostly it feels like he’s superimposing a dead girl over Wol. I was therefore more moved by Yang-myung’s trajectory than Hwon’s, because he loves the woman for who she is now, not for a memory.

The problem for Hwon really extends far beyond Wol, even though she’s emblematic of the issue, because it affects other quarters of his life. As a king, he knows who his enemies are and he’s deeply suspicious of their motives, and yet, most of the time he’s just reacting to them rather than being active. Or, better yet, proactive. I miss the wily young prince who outsmarted his crafty grandmother by mobilizing the scholars, who got stuff done.

Now that he knows, and she knows, and everybody and their mother (literally!) knows, I really want Hwon to step it up. Show us what you’re made of, please! I know there’s a lot more to you than a fist-banging, order-slinging, angry puppet king.

The last three episodes really stepped things up for the drama, and I find my interest finally back after waning for a number of weeks. One of the big problems is that for so long, almost every single element of conflict was driven by lies. One person lies to another, who lies to another, ad nauseam, sending people in this round robin of truth-seeking, who are spun around in so many directions by secrets and lies and noble idiocy. It’s a lot of talking, but not a lot of doing. So I’m especially excited now that the lies are out in the open, because maybe now we’ll finally get the plot moving again.

I love how when the show isn’t doing so swell i always read things like, “it just needs a push..” “it’s not really sticking..” and other such nonsense. but when it starts getting good again its all like, “thank goodness the suckfest is over. BRING ON THE GOOD STUFF.” it makes me chuckle.

No, what the hell. Hwon is not a bad person. Yang-myung is literally pissing me off at this point. Because once again he thinks he knows everything. Hwon is the one who was trying to get to the point of what the hell was going on. But yet again here is this ahahdhfsadiofhsofh butting in and trying to blame Hwon for things he could not control. Or how he is living his life when he do not know how Hwon is living. I swear it is getting to the point every time he shows up on screen i skip him or want to smack him or tell him to shut the hell up. All he do is complain about his life blah blah blah. Seriously, WHO CARES, it is not all about you. Even Woon tried to explain that to him plenty of times but NO he too busy with his head stuck up his own ass that he can’t see the bigger picture

No, Hwon is not a bad person and I don’t believe anyone is saying that he is, it’s just that his role as king does not allow him to have as accurate a view of the world as he should have. That scene where YM forced that corrupt minister to make sure the medical center for the poor received the supplies it should immediately was a perfect illustration of this.

YM is well aware of how limited his brother’s life is and he has mentioned, more than once, how he has more freedom than Hwon because he is not the king. YM has also actively avoided being considered as a serious contender for the throne because he is fully aware of how dangerous this could be for the two of them. So, YM is not as naïve about politics as you seem to believe he is.

As king, Hwon is in a bubble where he has to mostly rely on others for information about the outside world because his movements beyond the palace walls are very limited. Whether Hwon intends it or not, the fact is that Wol is not safe as long as she is involved with him because as king he cannot easily leave and he has too many enemies who want to destroy him.

I think YM realizes this and that is why he has been trying so hard to force his brother to become more proactive in how he handles Wol’s safety. YM is well aware that it is easier for him to give everything up for Wol’s sake, precisely because he has never had the weight of being king on his shoulders. He even mentioned this in earlier episodes.

So, he is fully aware of what he is asking of his brother. I believe he is trying to get his brother to understand the full gravity of the situation if he allows Wol to stay with him in the current situation. Now that they realize that Wol is YW, things will be even more complicated and dangerous.

I think YM wants to know if Hwon is willing to do whatever is necessary to minimize the danger to Wol/YW and to himself. Hwon cannot afford to believe that because they are in love and had done nothing wrong, that everything will be alright in time. He also needs to stop simply reacting to his advisers’ bad behavior and do more to stop them.

I wish the writers had come up with a scenario where Hwon attempted to pit his advisers against each other in order to destroy them. That’s the kind of plan YM probably wants to see Hwon put in place while he makes sure that Wol/YW is out of the danger zone.

Thank you both for the great recaps. I lost that love and feeling for this drama a few eps back but I still enjoy your recaps. Maybe its a good thing because it was getting a bit unhealthy having to wake up early just to watch it live lol. Now I can wait.

Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Min Seo still rocking. Han Ga-in is carrying her own so thats a relief. Hope they’ll limit the crying scenes because it looks/feels forced and fake. It seems like when they cry the tears only falls from one eye lol.

Oh sigh, same, I’m siding with Yang-myung in all these arguments (plus doesn’t help that he’s my bias here). I want to love the main couple more to prepare myself for all the heartbreak, but I guess I should just give up and allow myself to get torn into pieces. But a renewed love for this drama is awesome. I love this new wave of awesomeness coming in!

It was almost as if they were trying to make it look like a beauty mark on purpose because it wasn’t heavily covered with skin colored makeup. Perhaps they wanted it to heal faster.

I just read Han Ga-in’s recent interview where she mentioned how she doesn’t have much time to take care of herself, due to this drama’s heavy shooting schedule. I feel sorry for all of the actors and I hope they take some time to rest and get pampered before they begin their next projects. Even as short as a few days could make a big difference.

PFFFT
Haha. lol way to be distracted, girl! Yeah. sometimes I don’t know but it just bothers me. Distracts me. Like Wol’s birth mark on her nose. Like it’s not ugly or anything, and it’s not like it was never there before, but it’s just…distracting.
LOL.

THANK YOU SO0O0O MUCH JAVABEANS for the ever so quick recaps for the thousands of us who are not korean speaking.
I hope that you n galfri knowthe depth of gratitude we all feel for your great transl and talented writing.

i have been quietly from a distance in Hawaii admiring all your energies and free services here,

it would be so fitting to charge a fee liike DRAMAFEVER (TO BE A MEMBER can be uptional) MAYBE LIKE 10.00 A YEAR, IT CERTAINLY ENTERTAINING AND EDUCATIONAL IN EVERY LEVEL, ESPECIALLY LEARNING ABOUT A DIFFERENT CULTURE. It is your time as well.

MAHALO NUI LOA
Hawaiian for thank you very much!

i was hoping that you both could do us a favor again n recap QUEEN INSOO. I would like to see the differences btw THE KING N I VERSION and QN INSOO.

You know… come to think of it , Grand Prince Suyang aka (King Sejo) Insoo’s father in law was the only Joseon king (I think) who was able to take the power back from the ministers into his own hands. Of course he had to kill a lot of people to get there.
BTW Queen Insoo is not popular enough I guess and it’s so hard to findrecaps/ English Subs pass eps 2 so I do feel your pain.

Thank you for the recap! These last two episodes were pretty jam-packed with great scenes, use of the lesser-seen characters, good acting and some laughs, mostly courtesy of Yang Myung, to lighten up the heavier moments. In the scene where Hwon is yelling at the corrupt ministers, the live English subtitler (on IonAirTV.com) quoted one minister as replying that it would take more money to help the poor, which would raise taxes and that could become an issue. I had no idea Hwon was surrounded by Republicans! (j/k)

Thanks for the recap! I’m finding Hwon sort of tedious even if he’s played by Kim Soo Hyun. I do like where Yeon-woo/Wol is going. She’s finally displaying some of the intellect we saw in younger Yeon-woo. I’m glad she got Bo-kyung all scared. Now it’s Minister Yoon’s turn- I hope she takes him down too!

True. At least that’s what I’m hoping because otherwise I get all antsy trying to find reasons to not like his rival in YM. x__X; I feel like I’m cheating if I start to wander from Hwon because he’s supposed to be the “meant to be” partner. Honestly it’s just writing…

kind of like how we were all hating on HGI/Wol but now that she’s got more saucy/witty bits written in she gets to shine.

So, what happened to the King and Queen’s consummation story arc? Are they just dropping that route altogether? I didn’t care for that AT ALL but it irks me that we wasted so many episodes going around in circles of ‘will they or will they not do the deed’ when they could have used that screen time to develop the relationship between the OTP a little more and also give more depth to the side characters.

Right now, I’m still not convinced that I should root for the OTP mainly because I don’t see the bond between them as adults. We’re only going by the memory of their love as teenagers and its already episode 16.

Yeah, kinda irks me too. I would go on and rant about using time wisely (probably the only thing that went into one of my ears and stayed there, though I almost never follow it. Hee. I’m such a hypocrite.) but I’m just glad we’re moving on. Relief mixed with a smudge of gladness. Actually, a lot more happy than relief, I think. Well, both. Yeah. Like how Wol realized who she is is gonna (hopefully) take revenge!

Yes, where did the King and Queen’s consummation story arc go? I also understand how you feel about the lack of development for the OTP because their scenes together are my least favorite parts of this series.

If I didn’t have other characters that I enjoy more, I would be pissed that so little time was used to make me really want to root for this couple as adults. At this point, I accept that they are the OTP simply because that is what I have had drummed into my head from the beginning.

Regarding the consummation arc, I suspect that so much time was devoted to it to take advantage of the unexpected popularity of the King and Queen’s passionate hate chemistry. I know I found their scenes more interesting to watch than the cranky King and meek Wol scenes.

I also wish there would have been more development of the supporting characters, especially now that we know more about Min-hwa’s involvement in what happened to YW eight years ago. Watching her scenes alone and with Yeom in this episode were fascinating and I wish they could have been set up better in earlier episodes.

fourth in line ,nice!Dont think this will happen a agin anytime soon but…who cares.awesome recap(as usual)That last scene had me in tears.Seein the king break down like that…so sad.cant wait for nxt week

Kim Soo-hyun never stops to amaze me!!! I kind of saw Yeo Jin-gu in Hwon in the last scene of this ep it was like the replay of the time when young Hwon had to watch Yeon-woo being kicked out of the palace.
Finally it’s all out! I can’t wait how this changes everything!
Yang-myung watching out for Yeon-woo’s reaction broke my heart.
Bok-young would really go crazy… and Kim Min-seo does a really god job at it.
I would like to believe that Woon knows a whole lot more…

I really loved this episode (although I got a little disappointed that there was no kiss as shown in the preview). During episode 15, I was like, this show should really START killing bad guys… and first on the list is crazy Bo-Kyung… (bwahahahahaha)… And it’s a one-two punch since KMS is soooo good at portraying her… that her cries and terror were believable… and that last scene with Hwon was so heartbreaking, it somehow compensated my hate for MBC for that misleading preview…

anyhow, I hope somebody dies (okay, hurt/tortured will do) in the next episode, and it will become a trigger point for everyone to get things moving… and I’m so glad that the rants about HGI’s acting are minimized since her charter is written well after she got her memory back… and she stepped up to the occasion, making me care for her more, and wanting to have her revenge just like everyone else…

by the way ,that granny is such a bitch(i’m ususally more respectful to the old but…)!I cant believe she put a lil girl in that kind of situation.How twisted does ur mind have to be to do that?I hope she dies a slow and painful death (no sudden heart attacks or anything of the sort.)

Please can we have more of the batshit crazy Queen? Kim Min Seo is totally owning it!

Thanks for the recap, JB! Yep, totally agree on wanting Hwon to be more proactive. The ending totally got me in the gut, though. Yup, you had the girl you pined for this whole time and you failed to protect her. Again. Guess Hyungnim was right, huh?

Count me in on the KMS train. Even in her quiet scenes, she’s awesome. She and KSH are always memorable after every episode despite 2 things: their badly written characters and the interesting development of the other characters. They still stand out. Kudos!

I was disappointed with her actions before, but I was lenient with her cause she’s young and spoiled. But, I was hoping to see her owning up to her action of keeping quiet (that’s what I thought she did wrong).
But, this changes things for me. To me, no matter how young or old, you don’t PRAY for someone’s death(that’s what it looks like). And, It didn’t go well with me when she was asking Yeom for forgiveness and didn’t say for what. For me, if you ask for forgiveness, it goes hand in hand with accountabilty.

I don’t blame the little princess. She was in love. Grandma offered a way without telling exactly for what the princess was volunteering, stuck her in a dark room and then had a dark magic ritual pull energy out of her to attack her innocent friend. Finally she was told it was all her fault for asking for help. No wonder she is a timid, clingy wife who worries about being abandoned. She wants forgiveness but doesn’t know how to make amends. Who would believe her?

Rather than her being in love, I’m convinced that she was simply infatuated with Yeom. I mean, she supposedly falls in love with him at first glance, for pete’s sake. That would be fine, but don’t see her falling in love with anything else about him. We see no sign of her falling in love with nor properly appreciating stuff like his studiousness (though we see that she thinks of it as a bonus) or his kind personality. She shows no remorse for caging away his intelligence–something that he, as arguably the smartest man in Korea, would definitely be frustrated about.
I was lenient about her knowing about YW’s death since I thought she was just the innocent bystander who had been manipulated into staying silent by Evil Grandma. But then we find out that her WILL for YW to die caused the (fake) death. Then I was like, “…whut”. I know she’s spoiled, which isn’t her fault, and that she was manipulated into taking part by Evil Grandma, but that just gives me the impression that she lacks morals. Forget the fact that YW was a dear friend of hers, her brother’s bride, AND her “love’s” sister. Who on earth actually wishes for someone to die just so she can get a guy?
I do like how she’s clearly regretting her actions, since it shows she’s not completely heartless. But clinging onto her hubby mindlessly and ambiguously asking him for forgiveness (for something that he PROBABLY won’t forgive) is extremely annoying.

Have been getting tired of the character Hwon but am still loving him because of my love for young Hwon, Yeo Jin-goo and Kim Soo-hyun. Hope to see more action from Hwon! He can do more than just sitting there, being angry and banging his fists!

So many people are siding with Yang-myung but truthfully I still feel nothing for him. Or maybe not nothing; I get really annoyed when he comes on screen and starts his I-can-give-up-everything-for-her-but-you-can’t talk because hello, you have the freedom to do so but the king has so much more responsibilities to worry about! Though I do have to agree with one argument – no matter how many things Hwon has to struggle with, he really has to start doing something substantial to protect his loved ones and stop being trampled over by the Yoons.

I agree with you. I still love Hwon very much mainly because of KSH but I also can’t argue with what JB and Girlfriday say about Hwon having to start doing things. I do think though that it will start next week for him.

I may complain about his character but I will always be grateful that KSH got to be in this drama because it has increased his star tremendously.

I think you and I are among the rare ones who don’t feel anything for YM.

Not sure why, felt nothing for YM. But the pressure that Hwon has been pressed upon, both in love and reign, somehow tugged at my heart making me want to pat his back and tell him that all will be alright.

I don’t feel for YM either. Maybe because when they were kids, there were no scenes to show WHY he fell for Yeonu in the first place (maybe he did mention something about it?). But there were enough scenes to make me sort-of understand how Hwon could be attracted and fell in love with Yeonu.

Ditto. I am in the hwon camp as much as you are. Never felt a thing for YM. No, wait, i hv. Its called annoyance. And a certain can-we-just-get-YM-out-of-the-scene-and-focus-on-hwon-yw/wol-instead impatience

I agree. I’m starting to get annoyed at Yang-myung as well. As far as I can see, all Yang-myung has done is mope, pine (for Yeon Woo/Wol) and whine (that the king has everything and he has nothing) and talk big about giving up his title for Yeon Woo/Wol, and how Hwon can’t and never will be able to do the same. Its starting to get tiresome, especially when he’s already been told in so many words by Yeon Woo in the past and by Wol in the present that she doesn’t see him that way. I swear if he doesn’t look like Jung Il Woo, he’d be considered a stalker by now. Its to Jung Il Woo’s credit that I still sympathize with the character Yang-myung to some extent.

Also, that confrontation in the palace between Yang-myung and Hwon and the Finance Minister, I see it as more than just Hwon being jealous of Yang-myung, but rather Hwon trying to protect Yang-myung, which is why Hwon pretended to side with the minister (at least in front of Yang-myung). If I remember correctly, one of Hwon’s major concerns is that Yang-myung would get himself involved in politics, which could then be used by the axis of evil as a reason to accuse Yang-myung of treason (same this they did to Prince Uisong in the early episode). I believe its also the same reason Hwon sent Woon to stop Yang-myung from leaving his home and following Wol immediately to Hwalinseo when she was first sent there. It was to make sure that Yang-myung’s actions does not leave him open for accusations of treason. At least that was how I understood it, especially when Woon asked him how Yang-myung cannot understand how the king feels.

Like most everyone else, I hope Hwon steps it up a notch on the next episodes, as I’m also starting to find his constant banging of his fists and his inaction a trifle ( okay, more than a trifle!) annoying.

The 8 eps (fr ep 7 thru ep 14) when they were going: Is she or isn’t she? certainly were tiring. The story is too simple to sustain a drama of 20 eps. Cut out 4 of the eps of circling the wagon, n it’d be a much better show. That’d also be 4 less eps when Hwon have to sit n bang his fist. And Yang M wouldn’t have to cry n go running to his mommy. Most KDs would improve w an ep cut rather than extension. It is most obvious with this one!

Omg finally! Hwon is really getting boring and cranky shheeessh! I really love Yang Myung as a boy and an adult sigh forever in live with the second lead. Cant wait for next weeks ep. Glad Wol has some spirit in her. I love a heroine with some spunk

I just have one itsy bitsy teeny weeny bit of a problem though…
Where the hell did all the romance go??? Seriously The last romantic moment was when they were still kids, what the hell show??
Not that all the conspiracy, secrets with in secrets restored identity thing hasn’t been fascinating-it really has, it made everything interesting again.
Not that our main couple has to suddenly throw down and consummate in the next episode, but now that Hwon is in the loop wouldn’t he want to do something about it?
Don’t make me break up with you show! I mean it!
Ok silly rant over ^_^
Thanks for the recap JB!

They’re gonna cram the romance in 4 episodes or less. Tsk, tsk. They should’ve followed some parts of the book at least and had Hwon and Wol doing lots of skinship. As JB pointed out, “…for the couple to fall in love anew, which would have made that theme even stronger — he’ll love her as Yeon-woo, and he’ll love her as Wol.”

At this point, I just want to see how the truth’ll be revealed to teh rest of the characters and the baddies to get their comeuppance.

Finally! revelations or turn of events in the story are finally happening hehe
I was getting a little worried that the storyline would start to drag on the concept of “is she..no she isn’t..it is her..no-no..but she reminds me of her” hehe
maybe it’s the fact that the audience (we) already knows the truth and there’s no “what if it’s not her” ..but the characters just had so many “what if” hehe
Overall, this was a pretty eventful episode can’t wait for the next
thanks for the episode review keep up the awesome work, fighting!

Nah…I still think YM’s feeling for Wol is suspiciously connected to his love for YW. Even though he said many times that he feels for who she is, but would he interested in Wol at all if she doesn’t resemble YW. So, to me, YM’S and the king share the same obsession for their first love.

I was frustrated when the king seemed weak and couldn’t find a way to outwit his evil ministers, but I was also frustrated with YM, all he did was talking frankly (cause he doesn’t have the burden of ruling, handling the corrupted by laws and carrying on the monarchy like Hwon), but I didn’t see he practically tried to solve the problem other than threatening the king that he could leave his prince-y anytime. If Hwon bends to YM’s desire that he step down for Wol, I will be really pissed.

Also, this ep, hopefully is a good sign that the drama will end on ep20 as scheduled, right?
Thanks, JB.

That’s how I feel!
I think the only thing Yang Myung has over Hwon is his freedom. He can openly be with her whereas Hwon cannot.

If Yang Myung gives up his title, it really doesn’t effect anyone. But if Hwon gave up the crown, it would involve everyone including his enemies; and I’m sure Minister Yoon and the Dowager Queen would rather kill themselves than crown Yang Myung.

Yeah, I agree. If Wol looked completely different, would YM still like her? He’s still influenced by her, even though he says he likes Wol for who she is right now.

I feel sorry for the king in a way, because it seems like he doesn’t have a lot of supporters. I feel like the Axis of Evil (ministers and Queen Grandma) have a buttload of supporters compared to him. I do wish, however, that the king would have been more proactive somehow, like he was as a prince. Why does he feel more tied down now? Is he just more aware of his enemies now that he’s older? I don’t follow this show too closely, so I don’t know the king’s full situation.

Yay! Everyone knows!!
One thing I really liked is that both Yang Myung and Hwon find out around the same time so one brother doesn’t have the upper hand over the other.
I will have to nitpick about how each brother found out though.
With Yang Myung, Wol gave him hints of who she is with the rock and the way she words her sentences with him. But when she’s with Hwon, she’s still guarded since she doesn’t want him knowing that she remembers. In that way Yang Myung has the upper hand.

I’ve been ranting about how much I resented Min Hwa in the past couple episodes and if I resented her then, I down right hate her now.
I’m about 2 steps away from wanting to strangle her.
If Wol is curious about why Bo Kyung acted so terrified to see her instead of in denial then I would hope that she’d be pissed off when she confronts Min Hwa.
But as it was pointed out, in order to protect her family, Wol will have to cover up the fact that her stupid sister-in-law had any involvement with her supposed death.
Which of course, angers me even more.

On the other hand, I have literally no hatred for Bo Kyung. In fact, I really pity her. She viewed herself as Yeon Woo’s enemy from the beginning, and the fact that she feels guilt over Yeon Woo’s death (which is unnecessary in my opinion) shows that she is essentially a decent person. In addition, she gained nothing by marrying Hwon even though she thought she would.

I really really really really want to like Yang Myung but for some reason I just can’t. I feel like he finds too much fault in Hwon. I get that Hwon isn’t your most proactive or progressive King/person, but his hands are tied in more ways than one. It’s one thing to criticize Hwon’s ability to protect Wol, it’s another thing entirely to criticize Hwon’s reign as King (even though Yang Myung did have valid points).

Yes, I sorta (JIW bias, sorry) agree with you. Hwon and Yang-myung though seriously need to become chummy buddies again. And some more bromance, please. But I guess, to me, and all those other sageuks about defeating your own siblings and killing them for power and the crown, Yang-myung’s hatred/resentment towards Hwon is by far one of the littlest I’ve seen. I also feel that it’s young Yang-myung pretty much blaming everything now on Hwon of how he can’t have stuff like the crown, being loved by his father, Wol, etc. etc. But then again I understand that Hwon is much more limited in what he can do before Grandma/in-law Minister gets mad.

And also, thank you! I was afraid I was the only one who didn’t really appreciate our cute little princess. I know it’s not completely her fault, she just thinks it’s her fault (’cause really her as a child…had really nothing to do with it. at all), but when Yeom hugged her I for some reason felt pissed off. Like she’s always the protected one who always has someone to turn to, whereas Seol (the supposed other leg of this love triangle/rectangle – I’m still bitter about this almost nonexistent love triangle, lol) does the protecting. Graaah, the sheltered (dumb?) princess versus the badass independent bodygaurd (that also happens to be uber cute and has liked you for the past forever, Yeom I’m talking to you), which would you choose?

Sigh, and Bo-kyung, yeah I agree with you. I feel sort of sorry for her. I mean, if you look at it, and not in a way where it’s branding her as the evil baddie’s daughter, if you go back to Hwon and her first meeting, for her it was probably “love at first sight”. And yet he was already in love with someone else. I feel sorry (kinda, she still is annoying sometimes, and I like my main couple, lol) for she’s kind of always a step behind. Just that one step doesn’t give her anything she wants. If she had met Hwon earlier than he met Wol, maybe he would have fallen for her (or at least not have such a strained relationship). If Min-hwa had not seen Yeom earlier Bo-kyung might have actually had a chance to be included in that circle of friends (and Min-hwa was not so obsessed with Wol because she’s Yeom’s sister). And her dad pretty much doesn’t give her a chance to make friends, and Bo-kyung pretty much always finds herself left out. The only time she thinks she’s got the upper hand is when she married to Hwon, even though it’s at the expense of Wol’s life (supposedly). And she likes him, I think. And yet he’s emotionally somewhere else, with Wol. Bo-kyung finally gets what she thinks she wants, and yet she doesn’t get what she really wants – love and affection. It’s like marrying a guy who still thinks of his first love on a daily basis. And likes her more than you (though you’re married and nine years have passed). And as more years pass by, her guilt of having a hand in “killing” Wol increases, and when she finds out that there’s someone out there that looks like Wol/Yeon-woo and has “seen” her ghost (hah, I laughed, actually. Though that’s beside the point) just freaks the living daylights out of her. Poor Bo-kyung, always so unhappy. Time to find a new man? lol. After ranting this much, I guess this is my best solution. You lose, Bo-kyung, and I’m very sorry. It’s just that this drama doesn’t really like you. And Fate.

YAY! Hwon has finally woke up and smelled the coffee! Can’t understand why is wasn’t Woon who was lurking all over the place to tell him the facts? More Woon and Seol.

Kind of upsets me that Kwon tells Wol to never see him again.Why couldn’t he put 2 and 2 together sooner? Broke my heart to see her cry like that.Also, I agree that Yeon Woo is his memory of 8 years ago. Wol is now a grown woman and it would have been better if he loved her as she is like YM and not as a child bride.

I can understand why Wol decided to keep quiet. She lost her beloved father. Her mother has lost so much already, so she doesn’t want the princess or her brother to be harmed either.Tuff decision to make.Who do you love more?

Love it that Bo Kyung is going nuts! They should send her away to the nut house with her father.
Story is getting better and better. Hope it continues that way.

I really don’t understand why they had to prolong the noble idiocy. Now they have merely 4 episodes left to bring onthe smart yeon woo and king. Which is reallynot much Time. I’m guessing that they wanted to drag a couple of eps cus they didn’t know how it was going to end… Kinda obvious.

I read on Soompi News that HGI said that she hasn’t bath or washed her face/body properly for the last few days because she spent all or most of her times shooting scenes for the drama. I could see that in this episode, the skin on her face is turning a little bad. I also noticed a pimple on YM’s face too. I hope that the actors will get some rest, but it seems like the system is really pushing them to shoot and shoot.

I also wonder if HGI husband come visit her at the shooting site. I hope they will still spend some times together. HGI also mentioned that she hasn’t seen her mother in a long time so right after the drama ended, she is going to see her mother. I hope she can still see at least her husband on a daily basis.

I can sleep well now.its almost 1am here and had to read the recap before bed.welcome back Hwon.Kdrama rocks.there is totally nothing on American tv other than Alcatraz for me these days.its reality show after reality show.how sad.no one writes a good script anymore.there is not 1 show I can compare to these!!!

Love Hwon! YM is a good man but it seems he teaches his brother so much! He supposes that he can do better for Yeon Woo / Wol than Hwon, but what could he do? Could he do better if he was a powerless King like Hwon!? Sure it couln’t. Just saying is always easier, YM.

Exactly…it’s like someone was saying in the previous comments, YM can talk a good talk because he doesn’t have as much responsibility as the king, nor does he have as many people plotting against him like the king does. A lot less burden definitely makes YM “freer” than the king.

This episode is like a wonderful explosion of secret after secret! I never imagined Princess Min Hwa’s involvement in Yeon Woo’s ‘death’ to be that big: this whole time, I was thinking she just felt guilty because Grandma Queen turned the situation on her because of her wanting so badly to marry Yeom, and her being present when the spell was cast.

It’s such a delight to have quick and sharp Yeon Woo back, even spunkier and headstrong than she was before she fake-died. Like you, I’m hoping Hwon steps his game up as well, just so we could feel like their expected happy ending is hard-earned and well-deserved.

What I have noticed with moon is that during its laggy episodes, every character was starting to become pretty bland or angry. Everyone now is starting to develop some of their old personality and passion to fight the war now that wol regained her memory. Wol was so calm and now I love her deadly revengeish war. Yang myung was just moppy and now he is all childish and making sense instead of obsessing over a girl he was never with. Now that hwon knows, I am excited to see next weeks episode. Haha and love seeing crazy bo kyung.

i love dramabeans reacap i got goosbumps just reading this one and I cried just staring at the last pic of King Hwon. (i haven’t seen the video ep yet) and i got this reaction, i guess i have to ready boxes of tissue when i watch it. thank u!